Sparrow
by atomicseasoning
Summary: A new girl moves to the UES and meets some kids from the next generation. Future fic.
1. Chapter 1

Sparrow

Melody Sparrow reluctantly woke up to two things on her first day of school, the sound of her favorite radio station playing the modern rock and pop tunes on the morning show (which she also found somewhat annoying) and the sound of her mother's voice as she called to her bedroom to wake her up for her first day of school. Reluctant to get out of bed, Melody burrowed under the covers, hiding her head under her pillow, until her little brother Johnny came charging into her bedroom and tried to pull the pillow off of her head as he jumped up and down.

"Ahoy me maties! I'm gonna get ya with my sword, coz I'm a pirate! D'ya know that, Melody? I'm Jack Sparrow! So I'm a pirate! Come on Melody!" he jumped up and down.

"Argh! You just realized that? Okay Jack Sparrow where's your pirate's booty? Or did you loose it again?" she teased.

"My booty is right here!" he laughed as he pointed to his butt.

"Ha ha yeah that's one kind of booty. Uh I meant your treasure." she asked.

"Oh that's a secret...but I'm not telling you." he laughed.

"Okay whatever." she moaned as she tried to fall back to sleep but her brother jumped on her back, causing her to groan.

"Come on Melody and wake up! We're going to school today! You gotta help me find my buried treasure!" he moaned as he beat on her with his fists, which caused her to growl, until he stole her pillow and ran out of the room, after which Melody reluctantly got out of bed and went to take her shower.

Her shower didn't take long, but as she was in there she remembered that today was her first day at a new school so she wanted to do her best and try to impress...or at least try to fit in as much as possible. New school, new city, her parents new jobs, which would mean new friends and a whole new social scene. The fact that everything was going to be new intimidated her a little, but over all she prayed that all would go well this year. Still though she did feel a bit upset that she had to leave her old friends behind in Pennsylvania and move on to a totally urban school in New York City.

Melody made sure that her hair was brushed to a glossy shine and took pains with her school uniform and makeup to make sure that she would look her best. She wanted to be able to give a good impression so that she'd be able to make friends and influence people to the best of her abilities, which had always worked when she was in her old school, where all of her friends were in a variety of clubs and extra curricular activities. For her main objective, she just wanted to make friends with a few normal people and stay away from the mean girls if that was possible. (Even if her mother always told her to be kind to everyone and she'd be rewarded someday, or so her mother interpreted the Bible.)

Once she was dressed in her uniform, and was about ready to go eat breakfast, she realized that her favorite necklace was missing from her dresser. In fact, her entire jewelry box filled with her favorite costume jewelry and real jewelry was missing from her dressing table, so she started to panic. Losing her necklace and her lucky claddaugh ring that her aunt and uncle had given her after their trip to England, was definitely not how to start her first day of school, which she had wanted to be perfect.

Remembering what her brother had said about his pirate's booty, she wailed "Mom! Is Johnny out there? I think he stole my jewelry chest again!"

"What? Melody, you better hurry up or else you're going to be late for school and I'm going to be late for work!" her mother scolded.

"But mom! Johnny stole my stuff again! I told him to stay out of my room!" she wailed.

"You should keep your door shut!" her mom said.

"I know, but you sent him in my room to wake me up!" she cried.

"All right maybe I did." her mother sighed as she then turned to her son and Melody heard her ask him "Okay honey, where did you put Melody's jewelry box again?"

"Pirate treasure! And its a secret!" he said between mouthfuls of Cheerios.

"Will you tell mommy your secret?" their mother asked, sweetly.

"No!"

"Will you tell Melody?" she asked.

"Okay. But its a secret!" he whispered as he ran off to his sister's room until she saw him.

"All right squirt, where's my chest?" she sarcastically asked.

"Right there!" he teased, pointing up to her.

"Ha ha, very funny. My jewelry box, where is it?" she sighed.

"It's a secret." he whispered.

"Great...well I don't have time for you to draw me a map, so let's play hot and cold, okay?" she asked.

"Okay." he replied.

"Is it in my room?" she asked, starting with the obvious.

"Yes...uh...hot!" he laughed.

"Okay that's good." she replied as she began to question him about different places in her bedroom, getting replies of 'Hot' & 'Cold' for various places, until at last she found it hidden under her bed and her brother laughed and said "Good game! Wanna play again?" to which she replied a resounding "No!"

By the time she found her jewelry box, picked out what she wanted, and ate breakfast, her mother said she was running late for work, so Melody would have to take her little brother to school herself on the bus, which wasn't something she relished. The buses her mother meant weren't like the big yellow school buses that had taken her to and from school for her first eight years of school. No, what her mother meant was taking a public city bus to the private schools on the Upper East side where her parents had decided to send herself and her brother after the insistence of her grandparents on her mother's side. Apparently her mother had been one of the many alumni of that school back in the early 2000s, so her grandparents insisted that she attend there as well, even though public school would've been fine with her.

Melody and her brother Johnny rode the bus along the route, despite the smelly fumes and strange people who seemed to stare at them as they sat huddled together, looking out the dirty windows. Melody knew that she should be listening for their stops, but like a typical teenager, she was listening to web radio from her cell phone and a few songs she'd saved which were her favorites as she kept her hand clenched to her brother's arm and daydreamed as they rode along.

The bus stopped and had almost began to move again, when she realized that her brother's school St. Sebastien's was just a few doors away, so she pressed the button to stop the bus, squeezed herself and her brother out the back door, and made her way toward the school, dragging Johnny along behind her. She made it to the gate just in time as one of the adult monitors ushered him inside with the rest of the children, wishing her a good day.

It was after she'd dropped off her brother that Melody realized that the bus had long since left, which would mean she'd have to walk the rest of the way, and according to the GPS website on her phone, that was over a block and a half, so she realized she'd have to let her feet do the walking. So she did.

By the time she arrived at the school, Melody thought for sure she'd be late, but surprisingly there were still a number of students milling around the courtyard, primping, preening, and chatting. The school she'd be attending was originally the Constance Billard School for Girls, however it'd been integrated with the St. Jude Boy's Academy so thoroughly that it was more or less a coed school by the time Melody Sparrow joined it hallowed ranks.

When she'd initially learned about the school, she'd thought that it'd be an enlightened school for learning, like she'd imagined the Ivy League schools like Harvard, Yale, Princeton, or Columbia to be, however this school seemed to hold all of the same drama as her old high school, but on a much more intense level. To Melody, everyone seemed like a mean girl or a spoiled rich boy or a jock. Everyone was seemingly primping and chatting already in their own little groups. She scanned the crowd, trying to find somewhere to sit and wait, deciding that a couple of kids off to the side looked nice, but after an initial introduction, they pretty much ignored her.

As she was sitting on a low wall, writing something in the journal that she kept where she recorded the various momentous moments in her day, suddenly her pen slipped out of her fingers and rolled across the pavement. Knowing that was her favorite pen, and feeling a little embarrassed about herself she mentally sighed_ 'Great way to go butterfingers! That's just the perfect way to impress everyone on your first day.'_ she sighed as she walked across the cobble stone patio to catch her pen, looking downward as she did so, until she suddenly knocked heads with someone.

"Ouch!" she yelped.

"Sorry. Is this your's? Nice pen." a deep masculine voice said to her as Melody looked up into the face of a handsome, blond haired, blue eyed Adonis and one of the cutest boys she'd seen in awhile.

"Thanks. Yes that's my pen. Sorry if I bumped into you. My name's Melody Sparrow." she cheerfully said, hoping that she didn't sound like too much of a dork.

"No problem. I don't mind running into a girl as cute as you. Name's Adam Archibald. Are you new here?" he asked.

"Oh yes. This was my first day so it's just a matter of finding my way. I'm sure you can imagine." Melody said in her best flirty voice, although she assumed that she was probably just embarrassing herself.

Still Adam chuckled at her, but not in a mean way, as he said "Yes I think so. Well if you need me to show you around, I'd be happy to. I'll catch you later." as he waved goodbye and sauntered off with a natural athletic grace.

Suddenly one of the girls sitting nearby piped up "Uh...Melody is it? Oh girl if you're crushing on Adam Archibald, you better not make it obvious for your own sake. I'm just warning you." as she glanced at her.

"Oh...uh...why do you think I'm crushing on Adam?" Melody nervously replied as she sat down.

"Because it's written all over your face!" she laughed as she went on "Hey I don't blame you for crushing on him...most of the girls here do, since Adam is one of our resident hotties. It is just that you shouldn't make your crush too obvious or else you'll regret it."

"Regret it? How?" Melody asked.

"Because you don't want the Flock to come swarming down on you. No one does." another girl piped up.

"The Flock?" she asked.

"Yes. Have you ever seen the old Alfred Hitchcock movie The Birds? Well getting picked on by The Flock is ten times worse, let me tell you." a third girl said.

"Huh?" Melody speculated as suddenly, like in a movie, a trio of girls came strutting in, in perfect synchronization. Melody had seen mean girl cliques before, but these three seemed to be the meanest of them all. All three girls wore perfectly coordinated uniforms, with headbands and knee socks that coordinated with each other's pattern-wise, but each to her own color pallet. As they strutted across the courtyard, the girl sitting next to her Melody described the members of The Flock to her.

"The girl in pink, that is Calliope Porter, but she goes by Calli. Her parents are in investment banking, and its said that they met because her father was her maternal grandfather's junior partner, so her parents married to lessen the scandal. She's spoiled and always tries to challenge the other two for control but never succeeds.

The girl in blue, that is Carolina Baizen, though she sometimes goes by Caro. Sneaky and always scheming, always two steps ahead of the game with almost everyone at the school...except one. She claimed that her father was injured while trying to be the next James Bond, but that isn't the case....but instead they're indebted to R's parents...or so the story goes. Caro plotted a coup once where she supposedly seduced the headmaster of St. Jude's into giving her access to all of the boys' personal information, and has since used it to fuel rumors around the school.

Finally, the girl in mauve, black, and white, that is Raven B. Raven is not really her first name, but after an incident that occurred in our freshman year...she's been Raven ever since. She goes by Raven to her closest friends, or Queen B, to most anyone else. Her parents are filthy rich to say the least. Her father inherited billions as a teenager and owns real estate all over the city and is the CEO of his late father's company, her mother is the CEO of a clothing design studio from her mother AND is a lawyer. She has an older brother at Oxford and a younger brother still in elementary school, while she's the only daughter. Since her brother received early admissions at Oxford, Raven has been running the school ever since, usually with an iron fist. She is the class valedictorian, dates Adam Archibald, is the shrewdest person in school, and throws the best parties...though soirées at Raven's Nest are by exclusive invitation only." the girl finished as she'd described each girl.

Suddenly, Raven and her Flock glanced toward the group where Melody was sitting with the other girls off to the side, so noticing the fresh meat, she began sauntering over to the little group. When she stepped in front of her, Melody was able to get a good look at Raven up close. Raven black hair, snow white skin, brown doe eyes that held a tendency to squint when she summarized someone in a moments glance, and painted red lips which she tended to purse a lot, showing off a classic jawline. Wearing mauve, white, and black argyle socks that matched her headband and scarf, Raven was certainly an intimidating girl.

"My my...who do we have here? Polly, Molly, and Hollie Hobbie, I presume...hm? And you, I don't think we've been introduced yet? I'm Raven...and you are?" she asked slyly.

"I'm Melody Sparrow, and this is my first day..." she said.

"Ah Melody Sparrow...what a cute little name...I bet you can sing like a bird, am I right?" she sarcastically replied.

"Well yes...I can sing some." she replied.

"Ah how sweet...I can just imagine. Anyway if anyone must know, I'm having a party at Raven's Nest tonight...but only a lucky few will get invitations. If you get a message from me, you'll know you're invited." she declared haughtily as the signal went and morning assembly in the chapel began.

~o~o~o~o~

All throughout the first day and even through the next week, Melody's crush on Adam became more and more. She'd sit behind him in Algebra, Chemistry, and English class, all classes that Raven wasn't in because she was in an more advanced classes, such as Algebra II, AP Chemistry, and AP English, so that she'd stay at the top of her class. Melody didn't mind having Adam in some of her classes because then sometimes she'd partner with him to check each other's answers or work on group projects. When not working together, she'd still daydream about him sometimes, imagining what sort of date he could take her on.

The few friends she did make warned Melody about her crush, but she thought that it was all harmless fun, no matter what Raven and her flock would think. And thus things went pretty well at first for Melody until a day or so before Raven's party, when she got a summonses from the Queen B herself to meet her Flock on the steps in front of the Metropolitan Opera House after school because she had something to discuss with her. Curious to what she wanted and how Raven found her cell phone number, Melody decided to meet with her, but unfortunately it'd have to be after she picked her brother up from school. _ 'If Johnny messes up my image in front of Raven and her Flock...I'm gonna kill him!'_ Melody thought as she prayed that all would go well.

It was 4:45 on the dot when Melody arrived at the Met steps with Johnny in tow, who was drinking a Big Gulp slurpie he'd begged her to buy him when they'd passed a convenience store or small grocery on the way to meet Raven's Flock. Melody checked to make sure her brother wasn't covered in his drink yet, and so far so good, still she warned him as they approached.

"Okay Johnny, here's how it is. You stay right beside me and don't wander off or talk to strangers or anything, but stay out of sight while I talk to the big girls, okay? If you're good...I'll buy you a hot dog from the vendor down the street okay?" she chided him.

"Okay. Oh are those the girls? They're smoking!" he observed.

"Yeah...and don't talk to them. And don't breathe a word to mom okay?" she warned.

"Okay. I'll zip my lip." he said as he proceeded to do so.

As Melody and her brother approached, a little out of breath, Raven looked down on them from behind a pair of Dolce & Gabana sunglasses as she tapped her cigarette with her ruby thumbnail and slyly purred "You're late Melody Sparrow, and I don't tolerate lateness unless I'm the one who is fashionably late."

"I'm only late by a minute or two...I'm sorry." she apologized.

"Excuses excuses. Anyway who's the small fry? I didn't realize we were letting little boys into our meetings, otherwise I would've brought along my brother, Cecile." Raven replied.

"You're Cecile's sister?" Johnny suddenly gasped.

"Yes, do you know him?" she asked, bemused.

"Yeah! Cecile told Mike he'd bet him a buck if he could hold the teacher's goldfish in his mouth then spit it out, and he tried to but he couldn't...then the fish was flopping all around the room and the teacher came in and Mike got in trouble...and I don't know if C got his dollar?" Johnny recounted his tale.

"Really? Very amusing. I'll have to let my father know about Cecile's antics...sometime soon. Anyway, I did catch your name...and it is...?" she bemusedly commented.

"Oh I'm Jack Sparrow...argh...." he joked.

"Jack Sparrow? Like Johnny Depp's character from the old Pirates of the Carribean movies? Ha ha, your parents have quite the sense of humor indeed." she chortled.

"Yeah I guess so. Usually he goes by John or Johnny though. Anyway you called me here Raven, so what is it you need?" Melody sighed.

"Getting testy are we, Melody Sparrow? You know that patience is a virtue. Nonetheless, I summonsed you here because it has come to my attention that you've been seen fawning over Adam Archibald in class and elsewhere, which I cannot tolerate since Adam is MY boyfriend, thank you very much." Raven said haughtily.

"I'm not...fawning over him. Adam is just a beautiful distraction...like a work of art!" she said, trying to cover her tracks.

"Art you say? Well then, like fine art, Adam Archibald is for looking at from afar...but not for touching up close...unless the touching is by me!" Raven declared, staring at Melody with a bit of threat in her expression.

"Okay, I won't touch...but still how did you know that I was seen 'fawning over Adam' and what not?" Melody asked.

"Easy. By keen observation and having my eyes everywhere through a little tool called Gossip Girl. I'm surprised you weren't getting the messages too on your phone. I'm sure GG has your number." she declared.

"GiGi? Gossip Girl? Is that some game? Messages? Oh do you mean those weird cryptic messages like '_**Spotted: A & R in the par...' **_or '_**Spotted: J & K going to the...'**_**? **I don't get that many free text messages on my cell phone, so I just skip the stuff that seemed people's twitter messages or whatever." Melody replied.

"You don't get texting?" Caro and Calli laughed.

"No. But I only check the messages if they're urgent enough and don't come from some mass mailing." Melody replied, as the other girls chuckled behind their hands.

"Well that's her family's issue. Anyway, I just thought that I'd warn you about falling for my boyfriend...but since you're new here, I'll just give you a warning. Hm...speaking of being new, if you want to make it in this school, you'll have to stay on my good side, which means attending my party that starts at 11:00 pm tomorrow. You do know where the Palace is, don't you?" Raven mused.

"Yes I believe so. Is that a personal invitation then?" Melody asked, curiously.

"Yes. You will get an electronic invitation as well, as long as you remember to check your messages. As well, talk your parents into getting you a better cell plan so that you can have unlimited text messages to your closest friends. They do work for Bassarian Inc., on 86th floor at the Freedom Tower, don't they? My sources say they do." Raven said, checking something on her phone as she said it.

"Yes, I believe so. I know they work as investment analysts or something on the 86th floor of the Freedom Tower. How do you know this?" Melody replied.

"I have my ways." she said then went on. "Good, they work there as I thought, so then they'll be able to afford to upgrade your cell plan. Just use your feminine whiles and you'll be able to get whatever you want from your parental units. We always do. Well we have an appointment at the Empire's Day Spa for massages, pedicures, facials, the works. We would invite you along...but since you have a tag along...perhaps another time. Ta ta! Ah our ride is here! Come ladies." Raven declared as she pulled her sunglasses back up to shield her eyes from the late afternoon sun as a long, black limousine pulled up to the curb and Raven, Caro, and Calli entered the car for their excursion to the hotel day spa.

Frustrated with some aspects of her life, Melody sighed as she dragged her brother along. Her brother begged her to buy him a hot dog from the vendor, then he started to cry because his slurpie made him have to go pee, and finally after finding a restroom, catching the bus, and walking several blocks, they made it back home just as their parents were walking in the door. Their mother began to harp on her for not having supper ready when they got home, so reluctantly she started it then to contend with her mother's griping and not have to explain about Raven and her flock, although Johnny took care of that readily enough by babbling about it over dinner.

"Melody, you were hanging out with girls who smoke and most likely drink and do all sorts of other no doubt nefarious actions? You know how we feel about that." her mom chided.

"Yeah I know, but Raven and her Flock...er...friends are some of the most popular girls in school and they're probably not that bad. Not really. They even invited me to a party tomorrow night at Raven's place." Melody sighed.

"Really? And what time is the party so I'd know when to drop you off and pick you up?" her father asked.

"Dad, I'm 16 years old, I'm no longer a child anymore. I don't need you to drop me off or pick me up. Not if I...go with friends." Melody offered as she quickly tried to think of a way to invite Hollie or Molly along, if she could think of a way around Raven and her Flock of friends.

"All right, maybe if you go with friends. What friends were you thinking about going with? Hopefully they're not like this Raven that you mentioned." her mother asked.

"No, Hollie and Molly are nice girls and I don't think they smoke or do anything too bad. They're sort of like Michelle and Eva from back at home." Melody said, mentioning two of her former friends from back at her old school.

"Oh really? Well that's good. Hm, Hollie and Molly? Quite the names, are they twins?" her mom asked.

"No. Hollie is short for her real name which is Hollandaise Benwick and Molly is short for Melisande Wentworth. I guess they decided to go by nicknames to make things easier. I don't know." she replied.

"Interesting names. Hollandaise, like the sauce. Ha funny. All right dear, you can go out with your friends tomorrow if its fine with their parents and if you get back before 12:30 or so, unless you're spending the night, and if so let us know." her dad said.

"Thanks dad." Melody said, surprised at how easy that was.

After dinner, Melody went back to her room to work on her homework and to call Hollie and Molly to tell them of her plans for the next evening. She got both girls on the phone and broke the news to them to gage their reactions and see if they were able to come.

"Hey girls, guess who got an invite to Raven's party tomorrow?" she excitedly said.

"Who, you? Cool!" they both said.

"Yeah, but the only problem is that my parents won't allow me to go unless you two go along with me...so I told them that you were." she said.

"Really? I'd love to go...but I haven't been invited yet by the Queen Bitch or any of her posse, so I don't think I can." Hollie sighed.

"Yeah Mel, the Queen's parties are usually ultra exclusive or at least have been since the disastrous fiasco in 8th or 9th grade when...well I shouldn't say." Molly added.

"Disastrous fiasco involving Raven? Although I'm not one to pay attention to gossip but,...oh spill it!" Melody excitedly asked.

"Well it was when we were at the end of our 8th grade year and a couple girls from Constance invited us to a party and Raven got drunk and let these kids dye her hair and it came out all orange and...well it ended up on the internet...so she's since been trying to live it down as Raven, the Queen Bitch of Constance Billard." Hollie explained, recanting even more of the story to Melody.

"Oh I see. Well that explains her Raven persona, I suppose, but still that doesn't explain why she has to be so exclusive. Anyway I think I have an idea about how all of us can go to the party together. Still how shall I dress for the party if its going to be held at the Palace Hotel? The last time I went to a party I wore a t-shirt and jeans." Melody pondered.

"Oh honey, you're in the Upper East Side of New York City now. Just come over to my place tomorrow and I'll fix you up...but you'll have to tell us your grand idea though when you come." Hollie said as Molly agreed and Melody replied.

"Oh I will, I will. By the way, you all are in choir, right?" Melody pondered aloud in reply.

"Yes...what do you have in mind?" the girls asked.

"Oh you'll have to just wait and see." Melody mused as her mind began to work with ideas.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The next day at school, Melody saw Raven and her little Flock of minions sitting at a table in the courtyard as they talked about the upcoming party as well as various fashion infractions Raven had thought that her girls had committed, along with her solution for this issue.

"All right Callie, Caro, you know how we're all supposed to match and since Halloween is coming up, I bought you both gifts. Open them and enjoy girls, the treat is on me." she laughed as her two minions opened their gifts.

"Halloween themed socks, headbands, scarves, and necklaces? You shouldn't have Raven." they exclaimed sarcastically sweet as they looked over the gifts.

"Oh it was nothing darlings, you know I'm always good for it. All right now put them on so that we're coordinated as we should be. I can't look anything but my...our best don't you know? Now you all know we're meeting in my suite tonight to get ready at...Oh hello Melody Sparrow, did you need something?" Raven asked, suddenly spotting Melody watching them from across the courtyard.

"Oh nothing Queen B. I was just wondering when your party was tonight. Is it at eleven like you said?" she coyly asked.

"Yes...but don't say it too loudly because we don't want just anyone coming to it, if you know what I mean. We want to keep the the riff raff element out...and keep things of only a certain level of class and sophistication. That being said...there is something I forgot to tell you. My party tonight is going to be a costume party...so make sure you wear your best...costume...tonight." Raven said, slyly.

"Costume party? Thanks for letting me know, Queen B. I wouldn't have wanted to have arrived as the only person not in costume." Melody replied knowingly as she realized that her idea to smuggle her three friends in for that night would work even better if it was a costume party.

~o~o~o~o~

That afternoon after school, Melody met Hollie, Molly, and Polly over at Hollie's house, which turned out to be a quite nice penthouse apartment along Madison Avenue. While there, the girls readied themselves for Raven's party and the roles they'd have to play to gain entrance. Some of the girls were skeptical, but Melody was confident it would work for the most part.

"Melody are you sure this is going to work? I don't know what Raven will think because she might think our routine is too much like her old routine from when she and her posse used to perform at holiday concerts for school several years ago." Molly commented.

"Yes, and are you sure it's a costume party? I know how she is, and Raven has a tendency to trick people sometimes, usually for the amusement of her own friends. That's why I don't know if this will work, Melody." Hollie commented.

"She said it was a costume party and I believe her. Still even if it isn't, you'll still be my entourage and you'll probably not even have to sing, just look pretty and stay in the background and actually go to one of Raven's parties for once. You're all in the school choir, so obviously you do know how to sing to some degree." Melody commented as they dressed and readied themselves.

They arrived at the party that night slightly early, but of course the party's host and her entourage were already there. When the bouncer saw Melody have several other people with her, she just told him they were part of the entertainment which she'd said she would provide for the evening, thus they gained admittance into the hotel club where the party was located at.

To someone like Melody Sparrow, the party was like an extravagance such as she hadn't ever seen in real life. Perhaps the movies, or a television or internet show, but rarely in real life. There were ice sculptures, music, extravagant food, liquor, a DJ, light show, games, a makeover station, and perhaps a few people were in costume, if you could call people as live sculptures 'in costume.' For the most part, Melody and the other three were in awe of the whole proceedings, until Raven spotted them and approached to haughtily call them out.

"My my who do we have here? Melody Sparrow and her little chickadees, the Ollie girls...or should I say the Andrews Sisters? Nice costumes girls...but I don't remember inviting you three when I extended an invitation to Melody...so why did you tag along? Just to keep her company?" Raven mused.

"Actually they did. I brought them along because my parents didn't want me to travel across the city by myself...and since they hadn't been to one of your parties in awhile, Raven, I just thought I'd invite them along." Melody admitted, deciding to take the honest approach.

"Your parents wouldn't let you out of the house unchaperoned? How adorable! No wonder you always have a tag along! First your brother, and now these two! Is that how it's done in Pennsylvania?" Raven laughed.

"Not always but..." Melody stammered, but was interrupted.

"Raven, do you think we should send them something that will...send them on their way? My mother taught me a little cocktail that might do the trick." Callie suggested.

"No more Nair-tinis Callie. Those things are cute but boring and totally lame. I want something epic." Raven sarcastically replied.

"How about laced martinis? I think I might know a recipe that's a real knockout..." Caro suggested.

"I agree that could be epic Caro...but I want them to leave, not pass out in the nearest elevator. No I have a better idea...since you are all dressed like the Andrews Sisters of old, why don't you grace us with a song and a dance. This party is getting...boring...so perhaps if I and my Flock find you amusing, you can stay at Raven's Nest." Raven slyly replied. In her opinion, this was a calculated move to not only prove what type of mettle the new girl possessed, but also a more than likely way to humiliate Melody Sparrow in front of everyone. Self satisfied, Raven and her Flock settled into a bank of seats to watch the performance, their boyfriends flanking them on all sides.

Reluctantly, Melody and Hollie, Polly, and Molly took the stage, as Melody walked over to the DJ and requested that he play 'Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy' as she walked back to stand in place with the other girls. The song started and although they were nervous at first, they soon really got into the song, showing that they all really could sing. Despite the highly retro cheesiness of the song, some of the audience started getting into it, including even Adam Archibald, much to Raven's chagrin.

When the song ended and the DJ played another song, which Melody showed her prowess on as well, Raven was so annoyed that Melody was showing off at what was supposed to be her party, that she piped up afterwards "Good job Melody Sparrow, so you proved you can sing...but can you grace us with a dance? You're not done yet!" clearly trying to bait her.

At that signal, the DJ flipped on a song that was clearly meant for a stripper, as some in the audience started to chuckle nervously. At a loss for what to do, Melody started to slip off her dress, but felt very uncomfortable doing it, as everyone watched on, some noticing how nervous she was. Suddenly, the lights started to blink and a siren wailed, indicating that either there was a fire in the building or someone pulled the fire alarm.

"_Good, saved by the bell." _Melody thought as she tried to make her way off stage and out of Raven's Nest, when suddenly she felt someone grab her elbow and usher her through a side door and out the back through the kitchen. When they got outside, Melody looked up and was surprised to see that her hero in shining Armani was none other than Adam!

"There are you all right?" he asked.

"Oh I am now. Thanks Adam." she shyly replied.

"Oh it was no problem. It was the least I could do after tonight." he replied.

"Thanks. Yeah that was quite the party. Is Raven usually so..." she pondered.

"Sometimes. That's Raven for you though. Still I thought you did an excellent job singing." he replied.

"Thanks Adam." she replied.

"You're welcome. I'll see you later, Melody." he said as he leaned down and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, before he ran off to find Raven and try to calm her down from her latest bout of histrionics.

Melody soon met up with the other girls who asked her if she was okay and if Adam Archibald had really escorted her out of the building and so forth. Melody shared what she wanted to, but saved the little kiss Adam had given her as her own little secret. The rest of the night, Melody decided to spend it over at Hollie's house, where they did makeovers, chatted, and had some good old fashioned girl time together.

~o~o~o~o~

Monday rolled around, and when they arrived at school that day, Melody and her friends were greeted with the rumors after the latest Gossip Girl bomb was dropped on members of the school.

**Spotted: Melody Sparrow and company making their musical debut at Raven's Nest and making quite the impression. Still, our little Sparrow can sing, but what tune will she use to explain this?' **_(accompanied by a photo of Adam leaning in for a kiss.)_

"What in the world? How did anyone see that?" Melody gasped as she checked her text message and was aghast by the fact that someone had snapped a photograph of the moment when Adam Archibald had leaned down to kiss her after Raven's party had abruptly ended.

Suddenly, it felt like everyone had seen it and was staring at her as she walked across the courtyard and met up with the other girls who seemed to try to shy away from her for a moment. It was then that the Queen B, Raven herself, made her way across the courtyard to give Melody a piece of her mind and thus turn her into the school pariah for the time being.

"You kissed my boyfriend, Adam, and you dare show your face around here? I'm so surprised that you had the nerve! If you ever come within ten feet of my boyfriend again...you will rue the day, little Sparrow! You will rue the day!" Raven exclaimed, clearly incised.

"I'm sorry, Raven..." she stammered but was soon interrupted.

"It's Queen B to you, lowly peasant." she exclaimed haughtily.

"All right, I'm sorry Queen B. I didn't mean to kiss your boyfriend. In fact, it was his fault. He rescued me out of your club, then afterwards he leaned down and kissed me! I was just as surprised it happened that way, I swear!" Melody exclaimed at the end.

"He rescued you, then he kissed you? Ha ha, likely story. My boyfriend is loyal to me and would never kiss another girl. We're both saving ourselves for my 18th birthday, which will be in at least another year. I'm not going to be like my mother and rush into things too fast." Raven exclaimed.

"Oh I see. You don't want to be like your mother? Well I guess we can all say that for one reason or another." Melody agreed.

Raven stared at her strangely for a moment, as if she was contemplating something or merely thinking about what to say next, when she suddenly piped up "Well that's all for now. But if I ever catch you hanging out with Adam again, you'll not like what happens next." as she and her minions left in a huff.

Melody went in to school then and tried to get on with her day as classes began and the day progressed. Her friends were supportive, however even they couldn't protect her entirely from the ways Raven and her minions found of making her life at school less than tolerable. And the worst thing was, even if they told the school officials, Raven had such and influence over the school that they'd turn a blind eye to it, unfair as that was.

After school, Melody went with Molly and Polly back to Hollie's apartment to work on homework and so forth. When they got there though, Hollie acted somewhat strangely as she led the girls through the apartment and toward the bedroom, passing the living room in which Hollie's mother sat wearing a dressing gown, her long blond hair in a disarray around her shoulders as she waved at the girls while sipping a drink of some sort.

Before anyone could ask, Hollie piped up "That was just my mother. She had quite the evening last night...and is still recovering from it. Don't mind her." as she ushered her friends into her room and they got down to business with their school work. Afterwards, they started talking about their latest crushes and one of the girls asked about Adam, when there was arguing heard from the living room, where at least two adults were heard in a deep discussion about something, which just caused Hollie to turn her music up louder and say "Oh its just my parents...they can be so annoying sometimes can't they?"

"Oh yes quite boorish I would say. My parents wanted to send me to boarding school once when they were going on a trip to Italy several years ago...but that never happened and they ended up getting a divorce anyway." Molly sighed.

"Well my parents argue constantly but they're either passionate or boring. Sometimes when they're boring and seemingly ignore each other, I don't know if they even love each other anymore." Polly sighed.

Melody didn't know what to think, but at leastwise her parents seemed to get along fairly well for the most part from what she could tell. She did become to worry though, even if perhaps it wasn't necessary to. Their conversation then went back to usual topics as they discussed what films they wanted to watch out of the collection that Hollie kept stored on her laptop, settling then for Breakfast At Tiffany's because most of the girls hadn't seen that in awhile.

After the movie, the girls went to a diner down the street where they ordered ordered coffee or milkshakes and a piece of pie because the place had an odd retro feel to it. While there they talked about what they wanted to do when they grew up, and their hopes for the future. Afterwards, they broke up and went their separate ways to get back home.

When Melody arrived home, her parents were watching TV and her little brother was already in bed since it was after his bed time. Her parents asked her where she'd been and she told them about hanging out with the other girls at Hollie's house and then stopping at a diner afterwards for a bite to eat, but of course she didn't tell about what the other girls had said about their parents or what they'd heard from Hollie's parents in the living room of their own apartment.

After talking to her own parents, Melody went and sat by the window in her own room, in the pitch dark. The only light coming in was the light from the neighboring buildings as she watched people walking around their apartments behind drawn shades and occasionally walking around outside or on the roofs of neighboring buildings. The city seemed to be alive with life even at night when she was usually asleep. Alive with life and teaming with possibilities of adventures to come, if one just reached out to what was available in life. So many opportunities if only a person would take it, but of course so many didn't. She began to wonder about the type of lives that people behind the window blinds led and if they harbored the same issues and fears that she did, that her new friends and their families did.

As she sat back and thought about it, Melody realized that this introspection was an indication that she was growing up a little bit and it both excited and scared her. To realize that life changes no matter what we do was a realization in and of itself. Sort of like becoming a new person in a way as well. Living now in New York was already starting to open her eyes to life around her indeed, so she began to daydream about the possibilities she had for the future again, even with people like Raven trying to bring her down.


End file.
